Gameflip App

The Gameflip app was introduced early July 2015 by the San Jose, California based company Ijji, Inc. Launch as a marketplace for buyers and sellers to have a portal to exchanging used video games, consoles, accessories and collectibles.

Rewind a few months back from when I am writing this article to put perspective on the timing of when I was introduced to the Gameflip app. I can’t remember exactly who or what introduced me, but I grabbed the app from my phone’s app store and took a look. Buying and selling used video games? I’m “game” and willing to give it a look. At this point the app had been available for about 5 months. I’m sure many of the early launch “wrinkles” have been ironed out.

So at this point, I have had the app for a few months and have experienced both buying and selling and this article is a walk-through a few of those moments that I think you’ll find amusing to say the least. So, whether you have checked out Gameflip yourself already or have yet to check it out, I’d like to take you on a bit of a journey and I hope you enjoy it.

Creating an account is as easy as getting the app in the first place and getting the app is as easy as you’ve come to expect app installation to be. You can sign up for an account with an email address, use a Facebook or Google account and your account is set up. (By the way, you only will need an account to buy or sell items. You are free to look around without an account.)

Application Overview

The application’s design is nice. Easy to use and navigate. The interface itself is 5 out of 5. I have yet to really find anything about the UI that I don’t like. Shopping is categorized between Games, Consoles, Accessories and Collectibles. Within each category is subcategories. For example, within Games is XBoxOne and PS4, etc. The detailed navigation to making it efficient from both a buyer and seller perspective is top-notch.

Overview as a Buyer

Over the few months of browsing items for sale on Gameflip, I have made several purchases. Most have gone smoothly. Some of them not so smooth. By no fault of the Gameflip App itself the transactions failed on the part of the sellers.

In the transactions that my purchases were successful, I got a good deal and the seller got paid for the item and everyone is happy.

The transactions where they didn’t go very well, the transactions ended in a no sale and funds floating in the process.

For example, one sale was canceled by the seller because the shipping label didn’t print out very well and the post office refused to ship the item for the seller. Fine, sometimes printers fail to print properly. So… reprint it until it prints right. The seller must not have realized there are other printers in the world that could have printed it out correctly. Instead of doing that, he canceled the order.

Another example is a sale that I made the purchase and within an hour or so, the seller canceled the order. This time…the seller’s reason for cancelling was because he didn’t have the item any longer. My immediately thought was, “Then why is it listed for sale?”. Here’s the frustrating part for this one. The funding for the purchase was through PayPal. Typically, Ijji, Inc. is quick to process a refund for the purchase price in this situation. But because PayPal still showed the initial purchase as “pending”, the refund was on hold until the purchase was completed just to have the refund made to put it right back into my account. The initial transaction took 3 days to complete and then another couple days for the refund to be processed. Because the seller had something listed for sale that he didn’t have for sale, the funds for that purchase was in “processing limbo” for 5 days.

One other purchase I made was supposedly for a brand-new XBoxOne controller. I received the controller and, well, let’s just say I question that the claim of “brand-new” controller. Some people have an interesting definition of “brand-new”. This controller was not even “like-new”. In fact, it was defective. The D-pad worked 25% (only one of the four directions were usable) and vibration in the controller was non-existent. I will update my article with news on this one because I shipped it back to the seller. Fingers-crossed, I hope I receive another controller that actually works. This seller seems to be selling used controllers as “brand-new” based on the fact that they look pretty good on the outside but never tests them. Buyer beware!

Overview as a Seller

I have been successful at selling a couple games I no longer wanted. The first one went so smooth and quick I think I might have been duped into thinking they all would be so smooth and easy. To be completely honest, selling items do seem to go smoother and easier than buying items.

The first sale was a quick transaction. I listed it and within a 24 hour period it was purchased. The Gameflip App has the system set up so nicely for the seller because everything is a step-by-step process. You’re alerted of the sale and directed to the page to print out shipping label all set with the details needed to get your item to it’s new owner. With padded envelope in hand and the item you’re selling inside, slap the label on it and drop in it in the mail.

Once the buyer receives your item, they then have a choice to accept the item or report issues. Once they accept, they give you a rating within the app and the final step of the payment is complete. In the situation where an item is not acceptable, there’s a review process and the buyer and seller need to figure out what to do next.

Another sale I was able to succeed with was having two games listed and immediately getting comments from buyers asking for me to lower my price. When choosing the price I would be willing to sell my item(s) for, I carefully researched and try and create a win-win for both parties. I wanted a bit more for them than what I could get trading them in but yet still give a good deal so there was incentive to have a buyer make the purchase. Better return for me and good deal for the buyer, win-win.

Some “offers” were reasonable. In fact, one buyer negotiated with me to bundle two games together and he would buy them. All-in-all, I probably would have gotten the a couple dollars less trading them in. Most of the time though, offers are so ridiculous and that’s where the initial research before listing items for sale will pay off. The offers will typically include that this buyer says he can buy the same game elsewhere for a cheaper price. My usual response is to ignore that offer or say, “Cool, go buy it at that other place”. I had one Gameflip App user make a comment after one of these offers. He just wanted to comment that the buyer low-balling the price is lying. He didn’t want to buy the game. He just seemed as irritated about these low-ball offers as I am and wanted to say so.

Speaking of Comments

Each item listing has it’s own comment section for the usual negotiation on the price, etc. But it has it’s moments of people just being jerks to each other.

I confess, I sometimes get consumed by the Gameflip App comment vortex and go from one listing to the next to read comments even though I have no interest in buying the game. The comments seem to never let me down to get a laugh or two, for similar reasons that I think I like reading ads placed on Craigslist. It just seems that people don’t reread their listings to make sure basic grammar is applied and, well, they are just too damn funny.

Technology has advanced so quickly that a text, for example, “Yo man, I give U $20 becuz I can git dat fo $25 at a game shop” is bad enough but it will NEVER show that you are to be trusted in a purchasing agreement. Although, I suppose if the response is “Dat sounds like a deal, yo. U pay fo ship 2, right?” would possibly be a legit transaction. But wow, what has the world done to itself?

Overall Impression

I really like the Gameflip App. It does exactly what it’s purpose is for the buyer and seller of games and game related things. The mobile aspect is excellent, the user experience within the interface is well-designed and easy-to-use.

Some of the people buying and selling can be a bit annoying. But in general, I have interacted with some very nice people. Some purchases will go well and some won’t. Some sales will go well and some won’t. It seems to be just the way it goes in a community of end-user buyers and sellers.

By the way, as I wrap up this article, I wanted to say something about the Gameflip App that I hope could maybe be addressed when it comes to some sellers who list multiple items of the same game title. There needs to be a way to list once and just show that you have multiples available. I will also say that I am sure the creators of the Gameflip App figured it would be a seller who no longer wants a game title to find a buyer who wants it. But like many of these community-content driven sales systems, people will sell multiples of the same game title as a “reseller”. The only real issue with this is when the “reseller” lists 20 of the same game title, there will be 20 items you will need to page/scroll through until you find other listings.

I’m sure you’ve realized by now, I am a fan of the Gameflip App and it’s my go-to for buying and selling used games just before heading off to a local shop to buy and/or trade. It’s just people who aren’t doing community right that will be a problem. Buyers and sellers alike have a responsibility to respect the community of other buyers and sellers. If you can’t, then use whatchamacallitlistwhatchamacallit dot com.

Let the Gameflip App folks know The Loot Box Podcast sent you by visiting Gameflip App and using code KFNP37 when setting up your account.